First Tee of the Tri-Valley opens practice center!

Since they opened business in their hometown of Pleasanton, Dana and Greg Jetter – Jetter Golf – have been all about taking care of the kids in their town.

It was in 2004, the duo started Partners For Golf and that in turn materialized into the First Tee of the Tri-Valley in 2006, a local chapter of the group dedicated to growing the sport by introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to young people.

But there was a bigger vision for the brothers than just starting a chapter that would work out of their Pleasanton Golf Center practice area on the Alameda County Fairgrounds.

A dedicated practice/teaching facility for just the First Tee was the goal and it became a reality on April 10 when the First Tee of the Tri-Valley facility opened next to the Pleasanton Golf Center’s 9-hole course inside the horse racing oval at Fairgrounds.

“This has always part of the vision since we stepped on the property,” said Dana Jetter after giving a tour of the facility. “We knew the town needed a junior golf program and we knew what we could do, but to get everything done, we would need to partner with the community.”

Which is exactly what has happened.

Groups such as Shea Homes and Leisure Sports Inc. banded together to help make the vision come true. The result is a facility with two separate practice areas for the range, a huge putting and chipping green and a clubhouse/office area.

“It’s probably a $400,000-$500,000 facility,” said Jetter. “Everywhere we would turn, there were people supporting it. It was truly the community working together to make this happen. It’s become a First Tee community hangout.”

According to Jetter, there are 12,000 kids currently involved in the First Tee of the Tri-Valley in some capacity. Now they have access to everything they need to learn the game and all that it brings with it.

“There is nothing like this,” said Jetter. “We have kids in the Life Skills classes that have access to this and from there, it feeds on to the 9-hole course.”

Jetter Golf has offered deep discounts for green fees for the 9-hole course, as well as buckets of balls out at the big practice center for First Tee members. While the new center is designed for use by members in the Life Skills classes or camps, the rest of the kids involved at any level, have full access to the discounts at both the practice center or the 9-hole course.

Currently the golf teams at all three middle schools use the Pleasanton Golf center facilities and are members of the First Tee programs.

While things look great right now, there is still work to be done. The clubhouse/office space has not been finished.

“We are looking for support to help us finish the building,” said Jetter.

If you are interested is more information on the First Tee programs or interested in helping the organizations, please visit www.thefirstteetrivalley.org.